


Hero's Soup

by wangchans



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, First Day of School, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Panicked gay chan, Romance, Superheroes, University, allusions to the produce series, chan is OP because he deserves it, established orphan chan, everybody will be here i swear, school is different where they live, the title will make sense soon, woojin is the literal sun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-08-22 02:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16589474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wangchans/pseuds/wangchans
Summary: Chan doesn’t have his powers. And at the ripe old age of 20, he’s really late in the game.





	1. Admissions

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I am @wangchans and I've been writing for a while now but stopped for reasons beyond my control. I am now back in the writing game all fresh and new, and this is my first fic since then. I hope you like it, and I'd love to hear from you!
> 
> Thank you so much to @rasrafmek for beta-ing this i love u 5ever
> 
> Try to guess why I matched the idols with their respective powers!

Chan nervously pushes the door to the lecture hall open. Today is his first day in the JYP Academy for the Gifted – of course he’s going to feel nervous. Upon entering the enormous hall, he notices kids zipping past him, faster than any kid he’s ever seen run before. Bolts of energy were being flung across the room.

 

 _Ah, this isn’t helping,_ he thinks to himself, shaking his head as he makes his way to the very back of the hall, looking for a place to sit and hide.

 

Chan doesn’t have his powers. And at the ripe, old age of 20, he’s really, _really_ late in the game.

 

\--

 

“Dear Mr. Bang,

 

Greetings!

 

You have been selected to join our community at the JYP Academy for the Gifted.

 

Our selection process takes into account your genetics, as well as your performance in serving your local community,” Chan reads aloud, so his foster parents can hear. He skims the rest of the letter, looking over at the details of admission and the important dates, before finally settling his eyes on the signature of Mr. Park himself, the official director of the school.

 

“We are so proud of you, son,” Henry says to Chan, placing a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder.

 

“Right,” Wendy exclaims, giving her foster son a chaste kiss on the top of his head. “We are so, so happy that we raised you well enough to get into the best superschool in the country.”

 

“Thanks, mom. Dad. For…raising me, and everything,” Chan replies. He knows about the whole adoption thing – they’ve had many, _many_ conversations about it. But he understands, and he loves this set of parents just as much as he would his biological ones, had he met them. He wipes away a budding tear from his eye and flips to the second page of the letter.

 

The second page reads:

 

“As per the rules stated by the Department of Honor and Justice, students will be assigned student power levels (SPLs) based on their genetics. SPLs of incoming students are calculated using the parents’ power levels as recorded in the Official Power Registry in the DHJ. You will be assigned into levels from F to A, and your classes and dorm assignments for your first semester will be based on your initial rank.

 

The SPL for BANG BYUNGCHAN is **A***.”

 

“A*? Mom, do you know what this means?” Chan turns his head to his mother.

 

“Well,” Wendy says, her expression colder than what it was 5 minutes earlier. “Your aunt Seulgi is an A, and she’s the highest ranked person I know. She got her powers really early. Burned her house down during a tantrum at six. I’m not sure what A* means, but surely this means it’s higher than that?”

 

Not missing a beat, Henry raises his head. “Kairose,” he says.

 

“Oh.”

 

Kairose – one of the greatest superheroes in history. A heroine so powerful, she is referred to by many as The Flower of Time.

 

She can also be referred to as Chan’s biological mother.

 

\--

 

Chan spots the perfect seat in a dark corner of the lecture hall. _Nobody can find me here_ , he thinks to himself. The lights in the hall fly off of their bulbs and mix in the very center of the room, the mini-galaxy swirling across the hall and into the stage, slowly materializing into none other than Director Park himself.

 

“Welcome, students!” he says with a booming voice. Chan straightens his posture from the volume alone. “–to JYP Academy for the Gifted, where we make you the heroes you are destined to be. I am the School Director, Jinyoung Park. You can call me JYP, and I will be watching over you from this point forward.

 

Today 96 new students will be joining our community. Our study curriculum is not based on age, but on SPLs, so the training you receive will fit your learning style and capabilities the best. I hope you enjoy your time here.”

 

Chan continues to listen to the Director’s speech, or at least tries to. He gets to the part about the oxygenators in each room when suddenly he feels somebody…hovering above him?

 

“It’s cold in here isn’t it?” the floating boy asks. “I’m Hyunjin. Nice to meet you.” Hyunjin holds out (down?) his hand. Chan raises his hand to shake it.

 

“Yeah I guess it is a little chilly in here. I’m guessing you can fly?” Chan asks, with a soft chuckle.

 

“Oh! How did you know?” Hyunjin feigns surprise by clutching his chest. “But yeah. Class B flight. The faster ones are in A and I want to catch up to them. How about you, hyung?”

 

Before Chan could answer, the rest of the audience stood up in a thunderous applause. _Thank all the gods above,_ Chan thinks to himself, and quickly stands up, clapping and pretending he understood everything Director Park said. He still doesn’t know how to break it to the class, _to the school_ , that he doesn’t have his powers yet.

 

A booming voice once again fills the room.

 

“All incoming students please proceed to their respective dormitories. You will be oriented once you get there. All incoming students to their dormitories, please. Students with asterisks on their SPLs,” Chan feels the voice as if its eyes were piercing through him. “Please proceed to the dorm of your letter class.”

 

“Well I guess I’ll see you around then, hyung,” Hyunjin says with a polite smile and a nod before zooming off. If Hyunjin really is a Class B flyer like he says he is, Chan is terrified at how fast the Class A kids could go.

 

He’s even more terrified to meet them.

 

The walk to the dorms is long, but the cold autumn weather made it bearable. Chan finds his way by following the crowd of students rowdily heading towards their destination, him walking a good thirty paces behind.

 

A younger boy comes up to him.

 

“Hi! How are you doing? You seem lost. Are you okay? I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new? Oh my god is the new student orientation today? Shit I missed it I can’t believe I forgot! But you _are_ new here aren’t you? Hi. I’m Jisung! It’s great to meet you, hyung! I can call you hyung right? Your face looks older. I’m 17 but I’ve been here for a whi-“

 

Distracted by the boy’s questions, Chan finds himself losing the crowd he was following.

 

“Hi, yeah, sorry, um, Jisung, isn’t it?”

 

“That’s my name!”

 

“Well it’s good to meet you too. I’ve been following that crowd over there but now I’m not, so if you would be so kind as to point me to the A dorm-“

 

“The A dorm! Sweet. That’s on the other side of campus! Thank heavens I caught you there, huh. I’m in Class A too. I’ll show you the way, don’t you worry!” Jisung seems to enjoy Chan’s trouble immensely, and he doesn’t hide it. He puts both hands on Chan’s shoulders, turns him around, and runs.

 

“Let’s go!” Jisung bounces off the brick road and sparks come out the soles of his shoes.

 

_This kid is gonna be a handful._

Chan sprints to catch up with the electric boy’s pace. When he eventually does, both boys slow down to a calmer stride.

 

“So, Jisung,” Chan asks. “You’re 17, right? How long have you been here?”

 

Jisung kicks a can lying on the pavement, sending sparks flying. It lands several meters away, charred. “I got my powers at 15, then I received the admissions letter in July the year after. I’ve been training here ever since,” he says, his smile beaming. “You got your letter a little later, didn’t you, hyung?”

 

“Yeah,” the older boy says. “The letter came a few days after my 20th birthday.”

 

“I see. Well, it doesn’t really matter how old you are here. There is no pecking order as far as age is concerned. Sadly though, it’s all about rank in this school. The A’s have it easier – perks everywhere. The best classes. Comfiest beds too! While the F class,” Jisung looks to the road, his easygoing expression now gone. “They’re really, really trying their best.”

 

Chan notices Jisung’s change in disposition. _Oh._

 

“Jisung.” He stops walking. “Were you in the F class when you came in?”

 

“Uh-huh. I had a really hard time controlling my powers then. But I worked my butt off and now I can sleep in the softest bed in the _whole_ school! You probably won’t have a hard time though, hyung. You look like you can handle whatever life throws at you!”

 

“I guess we’ll see,” Chan says, flashing a smile that is _totally_ _real and genuine_.

 

The walk continues for several more minutes, and Chan learns more things about his new friend. Jisung’s father works in the DHJ and therefore has no powers, while his mother works as a lab technician and a part-time hero. He has an older brother in A class. When Jisung gained his powers, he got so sick, he was hospitalized for weeks. The doctors had to wheel him out to a special facility because he kept damaging the equipment with high voltage electricity.

 

“So, it’s your turn, hyung! What’s your family like?”

 

“Uh, well. I’m adopted—“

 

“That’s already an awesome hero backstory!” Chan laughs at the younger boy’s sense of wonder.

 

“I guess it is. My foster parents are amazing, though. My dad is a healer, and my mom is a markswoman. Perfect aim each time. Really bad for you when you need to go home after playing and you don’t want to.” The boys laugh at the thought.

 

“How about your real parents? Do you know them? Do you know what powers they have? What powers do you have?”

 

Chan feels a chill down his spine at the questions. Is he going to trust this kid he barely knows with the secret gnawing at him since he got here? He decides not to. _Not yet, Chan,_ he thinks to himself. _I can’t trust anyone yet_.

 

His new friend seems to understand.

 

A few minutes of silent walking later, they see the A dorms come into view. Classic marble pillars decorate the façade of the massive building. Hundreds of steps lead to the main entrance. It looked more like a museum than a dormitory, to be honest. Chan would love to live in a museum. He’s seen the movies.

 

“Well, we’re here! And just in time too!” Jisung points to the crowd slowly starting to form just outside the main entrance. He bursts into a run up the steps, small sparks at his feet. “Come on, hyung, or you’ll be late for the orientation!”

 

Chan climbs the steps. His anxiety grows each time his feet move from one step to the next. Suddenly he doesn’t want to live in a museum anymore. _What if they discover I don’t have powers? Will they laugh at me? Will they kick me out of the dorm? Will they kick me out of the school?_

He shudders at the thoughts. His steps feel heavier, as if his feet were made of lead.

 

_I don’t want to disappoint. I really don’t. I’m sorry, Mom. Dad. Mother?_

 

Winded, he finally reaches the main entrance. The crowd was forming quickly. In front of the crowd is a sharply-dressed young man, about the same age as Chan. Tall, black hair, beautifully tanned skin, and a smile that literally emitted light.

 

Chan’s heart drops. _He’s so hot._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a little recap of the superpowers and classes (for the students):
> 
> Chan - ????, Class A*  
> Hyunjin - Flight, Class B  
> Jisung - Electricity Manipulation, Class A
> 
> Henry - Healing  
> Wendy - Perfect Aim  
> Seulgi - Fire Manipulation, Class A in Academy  
> JYP - Galaxy/Space/Universe powers (it's hard to explain lol)


	2. The Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woojin is the sun, and he’s shining right next to a cold, powerless Chan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading Hero's Soup and for waiting patiently for the next chapter. I've been really busy lately but I'll do my best to write more regularly for you all~

The silver-haired boy walks to the crowd, with Jisung bouncing right behind him. He notices an instant change in temperature – the cold autumn air was suddenly warm, inviting, _comfortable._

 

“Good morning, everyone.” The black-haired young man, says. “Welcome to the A dorms of the JYP Academy for the Gifted. I am Kim Woojin, prefect and resident adviser of the A class. I’m here to give you a tour of the A dorms. Are you all ready?”

 

Everyone cheers. The crowd was being covered in a soft, yellow light. Chan notices that the glow, the warmth – both were coming from the boy speaking in front of him. Today was a cold autumn morning, and for a day right in the middle of October, any form of warmth is welcome. He smiles, and basks in the heat emanating from Woojin. It felt nice, not unlike the first sunshine of spring, when he and Wendy would break out the old gardening tools and start tending to the plot of land in their yard. Chan used to watch his mother work on the garden – her trowel hitting the perfect spots each time she digs new plots for the seedlings she was planting that season. He learned, and then he helped, and then he started working on his own little plot of land in the yard. He could never space the plants as perfectly as his mother did, but he tried his best.

 

A hand lands on Chan’s shoulder, breaking him free from his daydream.

 

“That’s Woojin hyung,” Jisung was still behind him. “He’s awesome. _Everybody_ loves him. He’s A* too, just like you, hyung! Sun powers and everything.”

Chan freezes. Woojin is in A* class, just like him. Not only is he going to be in the same A class as _the literal sun_ , he is also an A* hero. _Of course he had to be._

 

“Let’s begin the tour, then,” Woojin clasps his hands, as if to signal the beginning of the tour. “Follow me.” Woojin opens the large wooden doors of the building with one smooth swing of his arms.

 

A red carpet welcomes the new students as they pour into the foyer. Giant marble pillars, built like oak trees, line the edges of the room. On the walls hang exquisitely made paintings, depicting what seems to be gods and goddesses flitting about, slaying monsters, saving people, and performing ornately drawn rituals and dances. The ceiling is dome-shaped, decorated with a map of the stars and planets above them. A small glass window sits right in the middle of the dome, letting a surprising amount of light in. In the middle of the foyer is a colossal metal globe, made of nine golden rings, spinning and swinging around a central orb that glowed with a subtle white light. Right behind the globe is the grandest staircase Chan has ever seen. The marble steps shine as if it had been made of Olympian stone. Draconic shapes intricately carved into the handrails seemed to move with the light.

 

“This is the foyer,” Woojin says, his voice bouncing off the walls. “We do most of our morning briefings here. You may be wondering about that thing in the middle,” he points at the metal globe. “That’s the Academy Nexus. It’s basically a giant clock that tells you what time it is, or if there’s danger near. The paintings on the walls are of our notable alumni, and to be honest I don’t know who some of these heroes are, because they’re simply too old. The Academy goes way way _way_ back.” Woojin’s face scrunches up as he tries to recall at least one name from the gallery.

 

 _Cute_.

 

“Anyway, let’s move on with the tour. This way, please.” Woojin walks to the west side of the foyer and punches a code on the machine lock. The lock clicks open, and the doors slide to reveal…

 

“The kitchen!!” Jisung shouts a little too loudly, earning him a side-eye from the black-haired boy.

 

Woojin clears his throat, and continues his speech. “Yes, the kitchen. Well, it’s more of a mess hall, but this is where we keep the food. There are vending machines and water dispensers for when you get thirsty, and a large selection of snacks for when you get hungry. We have campus cooks come in every day to cook meals here as well, so if you’re feeling hungry, please don’t hesitate to come here and ask the cooks for whatever you want. The mess hall closes at lights out though, so if you know you’ll be getting hungry in the middle of the night, get a few snacks before the clo-Changbin what the hell are you doing in here!?”

 

It took them all of Woojin’s speech to notice a younger boy sitting in one of the benches, munching on a piece of bread. With his mouth still full, the boy named Changbin replies, “I’m eating, hyung.” Crumbs fly out of his mouth, netting him chuckles from the group.

 

“Director Park made it clear that no one was to enter the mess halls during the tour. You know what happened last time.” Woojin grits his teeth and forces a smile. “Get out of here and take your mess with you, please.”

 

Before Woojin could even finish his sentence, Changbin was gone. Chan could only feel a gust of wind where Changbin originally was.

 

“Binnie-hyung and I entered the Academy at the same time,” Jisung explained to Chan. “He’s really fast. He was supposed to do music at the school two towns over, but his parents urged him to do the hero thing instead. They’re major investors in the school – his family is _super_ loaded, but he’s really down to earth.”

 

“I take it he’s been liking it here?” Chan asks his friend.

 

“Oh yeah. He’s been doing great in classes. He’s got a boyfriend too, Felix in B class. He still spends most of his free time making music, too! Nothing can stop him, except Woojin-hyung. The guy scares him shitless.” Jisung makes sure to put the last three words of his answer in air-quotes.

 

“Hmm.” Chan feels his cheeks flush.

“So, about Woojin, is he really that scary?” _Beautiful, wonderful, amazing, shmexy hot_? He lets that thought slide right out of his head and into the gutter, where it belongs.

 

“Oh, hell no. He’s great! He’s the perfect amount of careful and crazy. Woojin-hyung is really reliable, getting us out of trouble whenever we do anything too crazy. Changbin and I get snacks a lot too, because of him. That thing between them earlier? That wasn’t real. Woojin-hyung was just playing it up – they love each other a lot, like brothers, I mean.”

 

The thought of hearing the words Woojin and love in the same sentence sends Chan to space.

 

“Do you guys have any questions before we move to the next area?” Woojin asks the crowd. A hand comes up at Chan’s right.

 

“Um…sir?” A red-haired boy murmurs, his hand still up.

 

Woojin opens his mouth and bursts into laughter that Chan can only describe as beyond angelic. “Hey! I’m not that old. Please, call me Woojin-hyung. What’s your name?”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the boy replies. “I’m Kim Seungmin. My question is, um, can we cook our own meals?”

 

“No.” Woojin replies with a smirk, then a wink. The wink wasn’t meant for anyone in particular but _I swear to god if he doesn’t stop-_

“Ah, I see. Yes. Okay. Thank you.” Seungmin nods his head, smiling.

 

“Did you see that, Channie-hyung? Woojin’s already taken a liking to Seungmin!!”

“Did I see what?” _Did I see that? Did I SEE_ _THAT?? Of course I did and I wish I saw it again and again and-_

 

“He said no and winked!! That means yes in Woojin-speak. Which means he’ll let Seungmin into the cooking area whenever he wants to cook his meals! He really loves kids uwu.” Jisung claps, sending out little sparks.

 

“First of all, Jisung, never say uwu out loud, ever. Second of all, Seungmin’s no kid. He looks barely older than you.”

 

“But he’s so cute! Like a little baby puppy.”

 

Chan rolls his eyes at Jisung’s remark, mostly so the blood rushes to his eyes and not to his cheeks. God be damned if he wanted to see Woojin wink again.

 

A few minutes later, Chan and the crowd find themselves back in the grand foyer. Woojin is on the north side, by the staircase.

 

“Okay! That’s it for the first floor. We will be heading to the upper floors, where the rooms are. Follow me.” Woojin makes his way up the stairs with long strides. Everyone follows just a few steps behind.

 

A spacious common living area welcomes the crowd at the second floor. The floor is covered totally in a layer of shiny, dark mahogany tiles. A big, round rug covers the center of the room, surrounded by couches and bean bags and chairs that litter the living area in an ordered chaos. On the south side of the common room hang two large bookcases, filled with comic books, manga, and novels. A flat screen television is placed right in between the shelves. Below it, a brick fireplace rests ablaze. The north wall is pure glass, and shows the view behind the academy. Pine trees and other coniferous plants cover the mountainside, and a layer of fog sits where the trees do not stand.

 

“This is the common room,” Woojin announces. “Feel free to look around. You will be staying here the rest of the semester, so make yourselves at home.”

 

The black-haired boy pulls out a few sheets of paper from inside his coat, unfolds them, and reveals the contents to the crowd.

 

“Here are your room assignments. Some of you will be rooming with new students, and some of you will be rooming with already enrolled students. Odd numbered rooms are to the east side, while even numbered rooms are to the west. For those with third floor room assignments, you may go upstairs. The common rooms are the same. The tour is basically over at this point, so you can start unpacking as soon as you go to your rooms, or you can opt to stay here for a while and look around.”

 

The new students approach Woojin and his papers, looking for their rooms. Jisung plops down on a bean bag and pulls a lollipop out of his shirt pocket, unwrapping it and putting it in his mouth. Chan smooths out one of the cushions on the couch next to Jisung and takes a seat. They watch each student as they walk to their dorm rooms, while some stay behind and look around the common room.

 

Woojin sits next to the silver-haired boy on the couch. Chan notices, for the second time today, how _warm_ Woojin is. It’s nothing like the warmth of the fireplace in the room they’re in, or the space heaters in restaurant bathrooms that turn on during the cold days. Woojin’s warmth is the warmth of the first day in March, when the last of the winter snow melts and the birds finally emerge, singing. It’s the warmth of a day in June, where you sport linen shirts and run your toes through the sand. His is the warmth of a morning in July, when sunflowers bloom above your head and turn themselves to the light.

 

Woojin is the sun, and he’s shining right next to a cold, powerless Chan.

 

“You’re Bang Byungchan, if I’m not mistaken?” The older boy asks, his eyes still glued to the papers he’s been reading off of for the last half hour. Chan doesn’t notice that Jisung has been long gone, lollipop included.

 

Chan tries his best not to embarrass himself in front of the Really Cute Guy beside him. “Ch-Chan. J-Just. Chan,” he manages to stutter. _God damn it, Chan._

 

“Okay, then,” Woojin turns to him and says with a smile, his face literally glowing.

 

“Well, Channie, you’ll be rooming with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A recap of this chapter's supers:  
> Chan - ???  
> Woojin - sun powers (heat and light)  
> Jisung - electricity  
> Changbin - speed  
> Seungmin - will be revealed in the future


	3. Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe Woojin just didn’t want to lose the only person who had the potential to understand him completely.

Woojin leads the silver-haired boy to his dorm room – _their_ dorm room. A big, wooden door with 301A in gold lettering greets the boys on the farthest end of the eastern hallway. Woojin slips out a card from his blazer and swipes it against the reader. The lock glows green, and opens with a click. Chan is welcomed by the smell of pine and the slightest tinge of burnt sandalwood.

 

Woojin clicks the lights on and points to the bed on the left wall. “That’s your side, Chan. Your luggage is already in the closet, so unpack whenever.”

 

Chan chooses to ignore the older boy and drops to his new bed. He closes his eyes, letting himself be enveloped in the darkness only he could see, the way he always did. Many a night he spends in the darkness of his room, wading in the deep pools of his thoughts. He wades and wades and wades, until the sun is up and only then could he actually get some rest. Chan’s brain decides to recap today’s events; how his life is about to change, all because of a two-page letter he received in the mail a few weeks back. How he just met a bunch of new people within the span of a few hours. How he’s about to spend the next few years of his life away from his parents, to learn to become a hero, all on his own for the very first time. How he’s about to be exposed to the school for being a fraud – for entering, let alone being accepted into, an academy for the gifted while having zero powers. How he’s about to spend the rest of his stay in this school with his roommate, who not only was blessed with an immense power, but is also the handsomest, warmest, most put-together young man he’s ever laid his eyes on. How in the hell is Chan going to keep up with all this? His thoughts cradle him the way shadows blanket a candle in the dead of the night, and like the many times before, he thinks until he falls into a deep sleep.

 

The silver-haired boy wakes up from his nap. The view outside their window was dark, and the moon and the stars were out. It was nighttime, several hours after the tour.

 

“You might want to change. Outside clothes get the dorm rooms dirty really easily, you know,” a voice calls out to him. Chan, still disoriented, scans the room once more. He finds that Woojin has changed and is now donning a large grey hoodie and loose shorts that hang just halfway down his thighs. He’s sitting on the bed, focused on a book, while his legs formed a triangle shape with the bed below him. The younger boy turns his head and scans his new roommate _and totally doesn’t check him out_. He notices his legs are peppered with a light sprinkle of hairs that go up his legs, his knees, his thighs, and _where his loose shorts ride up-_

Chan snaps up from his lying position and makes a beeline for his closet.

 

It doesn’t take long for Chan to grab a clean shirt and pajamas from his bags and change. After changing into a loose, white shirt and pajama pants, he makes his way to his luggage and starts unpacking.

“So, Channie, where are you from?” Woojin decides to help out by closing his book and starting up a conversation.

“Um. Well, uh…” _Fuck._ “I um, well, my parents, my foster parents, I was adopted, see. I, uh, lived in Australia for a while and I grew up there. My parents and I moved to Seoul a few years ago, and now I’m here.” Chan pulls out a couple of shirts from his suitcase and shoves them into the nearby drawer. “Where are you from, Woojin?”

 

“I’ve been living in Seoul since I can remember. I haven’t been anywhere else – my whole world was in one place, until I came here ten years ago.”

 

“Ten years ago?” Chan is awestruck. Woojin has been living here for _ten years_. He could only imagine what the older boy went through.

 

Woojin pouts. “Yeah. My powers started showing pretty early. The academy took me in as soon as they heard.”

 

“Your parents must be so sad to see you go so soon.” Chan picks up a few pairs of pants and turns around. He feels his cheeks flush. He forces himself to look away from the other boy by pretending to struggle with the closet doors.

 

“My mom, yes. It hurt to leave her all alone. I never met my father, though, but I’m sure he would’ve felt the same way.”

 

“Mm,” Chan tries to stop the conversation for a bit. He still has suitcases full of clothes he has to go through, and talking with Woojin is, to put it bluntly, slowing him down. The younger boy opens up another suitcase and brings out more shirts and sweaters to put in the closet.

 

“So, Chan,” Woojin breaks the silence once again. “What are you in here for? Do you shoot lasers out of anywhere? Like _pew pew pew_? Or can you control minds? Or-or maybe ice powers? Like Elsa!!” The older boy makes motions and sounds that matched the superpowers he was guessing. Underneath the scary, intimidating exterior that was Kim Woojin was a giant nerd, and honestly? Chan was thankful. He didn’t have to experience the scary, commanding side of the older boy 24/7.

 

Chan continues to unpack his clothes, this time, pulling out sweaters and hoodies of various colors and sizes, and hanging them in the closet. One suitcase to go.

 

“I’d rather not talk about that,” Chan replies, attempting to dodge the conversation.

 

“Oh, so you’re one of them.” Scary Woojin is back.

 

“One of who?”

 

“Those kids who don’t like sharing their powers until evaluation day. There’s always one or two whenever a batch of new students comes in. Hiding their powers because they think it’s too dangerous, or too special or whatever. Not telling anyone until they really need to. They keep to themselves a lot. It’s sad.”

_He’s cute, but gods above, he could **talk**. _Chan turns away, focusing on unpacking his luggage.

 

“I know it’s none of my business or anything. Really. But those kids, they didn’t control their powers. They never told anyone, and once evaluation day came, they ended up seriously injured, sometimes worse. All because they never told anyone what they could do. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Channie.” Redness creeps up Chan’s neck at the older boy’s last words.

 

“If you’re afraid, I can tell you that it’s different here. We all went here so we can _control_ our powers – so we can use them to save the people around us. Whatever you have, we treat with the utmost care and respect in the academy. We want to help you come to terms with your gifts and use them for good.”

 

“Listen here, Woojin,” Chan starts. _I am afraid._

 

“Just because we’re roommates and you’re the hotshot around here doesn’t mean you can barge into my life and pry, okay? We literally just met and you’re already bombarding me with your crap. I don’t want to talk about my powers and that is my choice. If I have to, then I will, but with you, here, I don’t. So you can pick up your little goody-two-shoes act with your little goody-two-shoes hands, and get out of my hair or I’ll take you out myself.” Woojin _did_ strike a nerve, and Chan had to stop him from pressing any further. Chan picks up the last pair of pants from his suitcase and throws them into the closet.

 

“I’m sorry.” Woojin dims down. “I just-“

 

“No. Let’s not talk about this.”

 

Chan shoves the closet doors closed with an unintentionally loud bang. The sound resonated throughout the quiet room, and seemed to linger in the heavy air. Chan picks up his phone, and a keycard, which he assumes is his, from his desk, and heads out of the room, leaving a shocked Woojin inside.

 

The silver-haired boy remained surprisingly cool-headed after snapping at a boy he just met. Maybe he meant to push him away out of fear, but which fear was it really? Was it the fear of Woojin discovering that he doesn’t have any powers and reporting him, ultimately crushing his dreams? Or was it the fear of him opening up to Woojin, being too vulnerable and laying out all his insecurities on a boy who doesn’t deserve the burden?

 

He doesn’t know.

 

Chan makes his way to the common room on the second floor, and looks around. He wasn’t able to earlier, but now he had the chance to look at the books in the shelves by the fireplace. After perusing the volumes, he settles on one, plops down onto the couch, and starts to read his thoughts away. Or at least pretends to. He can’t shake the thought that he fucked up in some way. Woojin was only trying to help. Granted, Chan didn’t want to talk about his powers (or his lack thereof) and the older boy pushed him. He deserved it, didn’t he? It was too early in their friendship – if you could even call it that – for those conversations. They literally just met. Could he even trust Woojin?

 

_I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, Channie._

 

Woojin had been the only A* student in the academy, until Chan came along. Maybe he was lonely? He’s been living the last ten years alone in his room, with no one to talk to. Sure, he has friends in the A class, but those people couldn’t truly relate to how he feels. Now Chan is here, the first A* in ten years, and maybe Woojin just didn’t want to lose the only person who had the potential to understand him completely.

 

Chan returns to the dorm room hours later. He flops down to the bed and looks at the one across him. Woojin was fast asleep, his back flat against the bed, his hands cupped on his upper stomach. His breathing is slow and steady, and with the rising of his chest also rises a subtle, yellow light that dims with the boy’s every exhale. It is a beautiful and welcome sight in the darkness of the room.

 

Shadows creep into Chan’s mind again as his thoughts envelope him. Images of Woojin cross his mind, the older boy donning his intimidating, commanding facade. Dream!Woojin was running after him, his eyes a terrifying shade of red.

 

_You have no powers. You are unfit to be in the academy. How did you get in anyway? You don’t belong here, Chan._

Woojin creeps closer. Chan struggles to move his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to distance himself from his roommate. The older boy comes closer, and closer until, suddenly, a burst of bright, yellow light breaks the darkness of Chan’s dreamscape.

 

Chan slept restlessly for the rest of that night.

 

xx

 

 

The sweet smell of pancakes brings Chan back from his sleeping state. With tired eyes, he scans the room and, just as he thought, a stack of pancakes was waiting for him on his desk. He rolls out of the bed, half-asleep, propping himself up with an arm against the headboard to keep his balance. He slowly walks towards the food on his desk. Vapor still rose from the pancakes, filling the room with the aroma that woke the boy up. A generous scoop of butter was slowly melting away on top of the cakes, which were stacked on a white, ceramic plate. A shiny, silver knife and fork were placed on each side, ready to slice up the boy’s breakfast. Underneath the breakfast presentation was an intricately designed tray, with flowers that seemed to bloom from the plastic material. Stuck to it was a small, yellow post-it note, just in front of the plate of pancakes. In neat, rounded handwriting, it reads:

 

\----

 

Chan,

 

I made these for you. Sorry about last night.

 

                                                      - Wooj

 

\----

 

Chan’s face lights up at the gesture. He plops down on the desk chair, and grabs the knife and fork. He slices a good-sized serving of the pancakes, and shoves the wedge into his mouth. The cakes were warm and fluffy, and the syrup was sweet. For apology pancake standards, this was really good. He finishes his breakfast with a satisfied grunt.

 

Maybe he should make Woojin apology pancakes too.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for waiting! It's been a little hard to write lately but I tried my best to do something different with this one.


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